Shoe-fastener.



Patented Nov. l4, I899.

8 AE N" n S 7 (Application filed Apr. 13, 1899.) (No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH W. BARNA, OF OHIOAGO, ILLINOIS.

SHOE-FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 636,940, dated November 14, 1899.

Application filed April 13, 18 99- To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH W. BARNA, a

resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in shoe-fasteners, which is designed, primarily, for temporarily fastening the shoe while it is in the process of manufacture, although parts of the structure might be employed as a general fastening for shoes in their ordinary use. I

In the manufacture of laced shoes after the parts of the upper have been sewed together the shoe is lasted and it becomes necessary to lace or otherwise fasten the shoe so as to securely hold the last in position during the various manipulations to which it is subject ed. In the further steps of manufacturing, in case the MacKay process is employed, it is necessary to withdraw the last before the sole is sewed on, and to withdraw the last necessitates the unlacing of the shoe. If the Goodyear welt is being manufactured, the last ordinarily has to be withdrawn when the shoe is heeled, and in both processes a second last is placed in the shoe after the sewing or heeling, as the case may be, is completed, which last remains in place until the shoe is entirely completed, when it must be withdrawn. In every case when the last is withdrawn or inserted it necessitates the lacing or unlacing of the shoe at the cost of considerable time and labor if strings are employed for this purpose, as is customary.

My invention is designed to form a temporary fastener which can be readily inserted in the shoe and adjusted so as to hold the shoe as securely as if it were laced and one which can also be released so much as may be necessary to withdraw the last without entirely removing the fastener. When the shoe is finally completed, the fastener is permanently withdrawn and can be used in the manufacture of any number of shoes subsequently.

In order to more fully disclose my invention, reference is had to the annexed sheet of drawings, in which the same letters of reference are used to designate identical parts in all the figures, of which' Serial No. 712,835. (No model.)

Figure l is a view of a shoe with the fas tener in place. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the fastener detached from the shoe. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a perspective View, on alarger scale, of the sliding clip detached. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lower ends of the fastener with the two halves detached, and Fig. 6 is a per spective View of an implement which I may use to draw the clip into fastening position.

The'fastener consists, primarily,'of three parts, the members A and B, which are pivotally connected, and the sliding clip 0, which is preferably permanently mounted on one of them, as A, and can be moved to temporarily engage both of them and to draw them together into fastening or holding position. The members A and B are substantially of the same construction, the main portion of each consisting of a thin sheet of some preferably elastic material, such as sheetsteel, which has .the general shapeshown. On the outer side of each member are arranged the hooks D, which are shaped so as to fit'into the eyelets and are located in the construction shown so as to fitinto the first, third, fifth, and sixth eyelets, beginning at the bottom. These members A and B may be pivoted directly to each other; but I preferably employ the'links E and F, which are of the shape shown very clearly in Fig. 5 and which are pivotally attached 'to the lower ends of the membersA and B, respectively, preferably by the eyelets G, although it will be understood that other forms of pivotal connection might be employed. I conveniently form the lowest pair of hooks D upon the outer ends of these links E and F. The links E and F are detachably pivotally connected, preferably by means of anaperture H in the link E, through which passes the pintle J which is preferably undercut on one side, as at K, to more securely hold the parts together when they are in position.

members A and B are bent over, as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 5, to form an outwardlyopening channel, in which the ends L of the clip 0 slide. To increase the. flexibility of the members A and B, which would be seriously interfered with if the turned-over edges were left solid, I cut the notches M in the edges. The clip 0 consists of a metallic strip The inner edges of the having its ends L bent under, as shown in Fig. 4, and I may employ the holes N in the upper surface thereof, in which the teeth of the tool P may be placed to move the slide. To hold the slide yieldingly in any position in which it may be placed and also to secure it to the member A, I employ the leaf-spring Q, which is of the shape clearly shown in Fig. 4 and which may be secured in position in any desired way, as by the strips R, which are bent over from the edges of the clip 0. The lower portion of the turned-over edge of the member Bis cut away, as seen at S, so that when the clip 0 is drawn down to the lower end of the fastener the members can be swung apart, so as to open the shoe and withdraw the last, and to prevent the possibility of the edge of the clip catching as it is started to be pulled up I bevel or round off the edge of the lower end of the turned-over portion of the member B, as seen at T. To secure the clip 0 in position and prevent its being accidentally disengaged from the member A after it is placed in posit-ion, I bend down the teeth U at the upper and lower ends of the member A, which teeth are formed by the grooves or notches M.

The operation of the device will be readily apparent. When the shoe is lasted, the members A and B being separated, and the clip 0, being in its lowermost position, are turned so that the hooks D can be slipped readily into the corresponding eyelets, and the pintle J is passed through the hole H, securing the members together. The clip O is now drawn to the upper end of the members A, and the shoe thereby held securely fastened until it is desired to remove the last, when the clip 0 will be slid down to its lowermost position, when the parts A and B can be swung apart and the last removed. The insertion and the removal of the last can be accomplished as many times as maybe necessary without any serious loss of time from the operation of fastening the shoe, and when the shoe is finally finished the fastener is taken out and placed in another shoe, when the round of operation is again resumed.

I am aware that a patent has been granted for a somewhat similar device intended to perform the same function; but in the structure of the aforesaid patent the two members are permanently attached at the bottom and, moreover, are provided with inwardly-pointed hooks, so that while this structure can be placed in or withdrawn from the upper when the last is out by cramping the material it is extremely difiicult, not to say practically impossible, to do so when the last is in the shoe. XVith my structure, whose members are separable for insertion or removal, this difficulty is entirely obviated, and the device is thereby rendered thoroughly practical.

While I have shown my invention as embodied in the form which I atpresent consider best adapted to carry out its objects, it will be understood that it is capable of some modifications, and I do not desire to be lim ited in the interpretation of the following claims, except as may be necessitated by the state of the art.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of the members A and B detachable from each other and from the shoe, means for quickly engaging and disengaging them with the meeting edges of the upper when they are detached from each other, with the movable clip C for holding said members in proximity throughout their length and thereby holding said edges together, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a device of the class' described, the combination of the members A and B detach able from each other and from the shoe, and provided with the hooks D adapted to enter the eyelets of the shoe for quickly engaging and disengaging the members with the upper when they are detached from each other, with the movable clip 0 for engaging and holding said members in proximity throughout their length and thereby holding said edges together, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of the members A and B pivotally but detachably connected together at their lower ends and having means for quickly engaging and disengaging them with the meeting edges of the upper, with the movable clip 0 for engaging and holding said members in proximity throughout their length.

and thereby holding said edges together.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of the members A and B, with the links E and F pivotally connected thereto and to each other, means for quickly engaging and disengaging said members'with the meeting edges of the upper, and the movable clip 0 for engaging and holding said members in proximity throughout their length and thereby holding said edges together.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of the members A and B, with the links E and F pivotally connected to said members at their lower ends and to each other, means for securing said members to the meeting edges of the upper, and the movable clip G for holding said members in proximity throughout their length and thereby holding said edges together.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of the members Aand B having their inner edges turned over to form channels and having the notches M cut in said channels for the purpose described, hooks for speedily and temporarily securing said members to the meeting edges of the upper, and the slidingly-movable clip C having the ends L engaging said channels for holding said members in proximity throughout their length and thereby holding said edges together.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of the members A and B having the channels formed on their inner edges, the lower portion of the channels on one of the sides, as at S, being cut away, means for securing said members to the meeting edges of the upper, and the clip 0 having its ends L forming hooks for engaging said channels to hold said members in proximity throughout their length and thereby to hold said edges together.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination of the members A and B having the channels formed on their inner edges, means for securing said members to the meeting edges of the upper, with the movable clip 0 having its ends L adapted to engage the channels for the purpose described, and provided with the spring Q engaging the edge of one of said members, substantially as and for the purpose described.

9. In a device of the class described, the combination of the members A and B, with the links E and F pivotally secured to the lower ends of said members and detachably secured to each other, the hooks D on said members for the purpose described, and the sliding clip 0 secured to the channel formed by the inner edge of the member A and engageable with the corresponding channel on the member B, substantially as and for the purpose described.

10. In a device of the class described, the combination of the members A and B, having the links E and F pivotally secured to the lower ends thereof, the link E being provided with the aperture H, and the link F with the undercut pintle .l, and the clip 0 having its hook-shaped ends L engaging with the channel formed by the overturned inner edges of said members A and B, substantially as and for the purpose described.

11. A fastener for holding shoe-uppers during the process of manufacture, consisting of the members A and B detachable from each other and from the shoe, provided on their opposite edges with means for quickly engaging and disengaging them with the meeting edges of the upper when said members are detached from each other, and means for quickly connecting said members, substan-- tially as and for the purpose described.

12. A fastener for holding shoe-uppers dur ing the process of manufacture, consisting of the members A and B provided on their op posite edges with means for quickly engaging and disengaging them with the meeting edges of the upper when said members are separated, and means for quickly connecting said members, comprising a separable pivotal connection at one end, and an adjustable connection acting at any desired point.

13. A fastener for holding shoe-uppers dur-' ing the process of manufacture, consisting of the members A and B provided on their op-' posite edges with means for quickly engag ing and disengaging them with the meeting edges of the upper when said members are separated, and means for quickly connecting said members, comprisinga separable pivotal connection at the lower end, and the movable clip 0 adapted to engage any point in the upper portion of the length of said members.

14. A fastener for holding shoe-uppers during the process of manufacture, consisting of the members A and B detachable from each other and from the shoe, and provided with the hooks D on their opposite edges adapted to be quickly engaged and disengaged with the eyelets on the meeting edges of the upper when said members are detached from each other, and means for quickly connecting said members.

15. A fastener for holding shoe-uppers during the process of manufacture, consisting of the members A and B provided with the hooks D on their opposite edges adapted to be quickly engaged and disengaged with the eyelets on the meeting edges of the upper when said members are separated, and means for quickly connecting said members, comprising a separable pivotal connection at one end, and adjustable connections for any other portion of themembers.

. JOSEPH W. BARNA. Witnesses:

LOUISE E. SERAGE,

HATTIE O. HALVORSEN. 

